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House panel OK's proposed Oil and Gas Conservation Commission changes

By John Fryar Longmont Times-Call

Posted:
03/28/2013 07:23:15 PM MDT

Updated:
03/28/2013 07:23:50 PM MDT

An eastern Boulder County lawmaker's bid to reduce what he's said are potential conflicts of interests on the part of some Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission members cleared its first state legislative hurdle on Thursday.

House Transportation and Energy Committee members voted 7-5 to approve Lafayette Democratic Rep. Mike Foote's proposal to prohibit people from being employees, officers, directors of or operators of oil and gas companies while serving on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state agency that regulates and oversees oil and gas exploration and production.

"This bill is about restoring the public's trust in the way that we regulate oil and gas production here in the state of Colorado," Foote told committee members.

"A decision maker paid by the industry is in an inherent conflict of interest," Foote argued. He said current law, which allows people working for oil and gas operators or for oil and gas service companies to fill several of the nine-member state commission's seats contributes to "the widespread perception that the fox is guarding the hen house."

Foote said the public's distrust of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission could be illustrated by the Longmont City Council's experience.

Foote said the Longmont council listened to its constituents' concerns about the impacts of oil and gas drilling, heard from supporters and opponents of stricter rules and ultimately adopted what council members thought were reasonable regulations. Shortly thereafter, the City Council found itself being sued -- not by the industry, but by the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which Foote said "stood shoulder to shoulder with the industry."

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Foote's House Bill 1269, which advances to consideration by the Legislature's full 65-member House of Representatives, drew nearly two hours of testimony from dozens of witnesses during Thursday's House committee hearing.

Stan Dempsey, president of the Colorado Petroleum Association, said the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission -- which under current state law must include three members with substantial experience in the oil and gas industry -- benefits from those commissioners' experience.

Dempsey asked House committee members whether they'd eliminate people in certain occupations and professions from being able to serve on the state boards that oversee professional qualifications and conduct and state licenses. Dempsey has said that would be like barring physicians from being appointed to the Colorado Board of Medical Examiners.

But Peg Perl, a staff counsel with Colorado Ethics Watch, one of the groups and individuals supporting Foote's bill, said although newly appointed Oil and Gas Conservation Commission members could no longer be current oil and gas company employees, they could be retired employees, professors, consultants or professionals in related fields.

Bob Randall, deputy director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said Gov. John Hickenlooper hasn't yet reviewed Foote's bill but that Randall's department couldn't support Foote's bill in its present form because of concerns that it "would upset the balance" achieved in 2007, when the commission's makeup and responsibilities were changed. Prior to that, the seven member commission included five people from the oil and gas industry.

Randall said if paid employees of the oil and gas industry are no longer allowed to serve on the commission, that could raise questions about other commissioners' possible conflicts with their jobs, since current state law also says that one commissioner must have training or experience in environmental or wildlife protection, that one member must have training or experience in soil conservation or reclamation, and that one member must be actively engaged in agricultural production and be an oil and gas royalties owner.

Foote's bill would also amend the commission's state-mandated mission by charging the agency with ensuring that development of oil and gas resources protects the public's health, safety and welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources.

Among those speaking for the bill at Thursday's hearing were representatives of: Our Health, Our Future, Our Longmont; Colorado Common Cause; Clean Energy Action; New Era Colorado: and Be The Change. Among those speaking against it were representatives of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, Colorado Farm Bureau, the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, the Colorado Competitive Council and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

After the hearing, Foote said his House Bill 1269 "addresses the system, it addresses the mission of the COGCC, and it ensures accountability to increase public trust."

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